‘Preacher’ Bosses Say ‘Too Many Over-the-Top Scenes’ Kept Show Off-Air for Nearly 20 Years
A sensation from almost the moment it was launched, the Preacher series has had a long and tumultuous road from page to screen. We sat down with showrunner Sam Catlin and Preacher creator Garth Ennis to explain why it took nearly 20 years.
“They may not still be ready for it,” says Catlin of the show that has vexed producers since 1998. There were numerous attempts — most of them aiming to make it into a movie. But Ennis says the comics have, “Too much of everything. Too many grotesque characters; too many over-the-top scenes.”
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One of the reasons the comic was successful was that, “It hits the ground running and then accelerates,” says Ennis, so it may seem counterintuitive to slow it down. But, it turns out, that’s exactly what the story needed to work.
The media landscape was very different in 1998. Back then, Ennis had hopes of getting Jonny Depp to play Jesse Custer — though he says none of the productions ever got “anywhere near actually approaching an actor.” But with the success of intense cable shows like The Sopranos and Breaking Bad — shows that reward “big swings,” according to Catlin — the groundwork has been laid to make the show a success.
Preacher airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC.
